Nagamaki

[5] In the Sengoku period, as the battlefield changed to a tactic where foot soldiers called ashigaru (足軽) fought on a large scale in dense formations with tanegashima (gun) and yari (spear), naginata (pole weapon), which were difficult to use in dense formations, were replaced by nagamaki, and heavy and long tachi (long sword) were often replaced by katana.

The historical book Kenbun zatsuroku (見聞雑録) mentions that nagamaki were lent to low-ranking soldiers who could not handle the yari well.

[5] The famed warlord Uesugi Kenshin, daimyō (feudal lord) of Echigo Province, is said to have had a special guard of retainers armed with nagamaki.

This practice of cutting off the hilt of a ōdachi or tachi or naginata or nagamaki and remaking it into a shorter katana or wakizashi due to changes in tactics is called suriage (磨上げ) and was common in Japan at the time.

The meaning of this saying is that nagamaki and naginata are equipment for actual combat, not works of art or offerings to the kami, and that the sharpness and durability of swords made from their modifications have been proven on the battlefield.

The nagamaki is considered to be evolved from the extremely long ōdachi or nodachi swords that are described in fourteenth century literature and pictorial sources.

This is actually quite a strong mount when done correctly, and allowed for easy dismount of the bare blade for maintenance or inspection.